Atlanta Braves Eyeing Trade for Sonny Gray

With the first half of the MLB season coming to a close this weekend, it is time for teams to make the tough decisions regarding how they will approach the August 3rd trade deadline.

For some teams, it is an easy decision. Take for example the 53-38 Atlanta Braves, who sit atop the National League East and figure to be legit contenders come September and October. Although their division lead has narrowed to three games, that provides even more reason for the Braves to decidedly buy at the deadline, plugging the necessary holes to go on a run for a World Series.

On the other end of the spectrum is the obvious sellers. Often small market clubs, who have little to no chance of cracking the postseason regardless of their play in the second half. These teams will look to pair off with the buyers and capitalize on the value of players they are unlikely to retain in the next year or two.

Then, there are the in-betweeners. The undecideds. The hopefuls. These are often the clubs who either overachieved or underachieved their preseason expectations, and now, staring down the barrel of a crucial July stretch, will await the results on the field before they decide which camp they are in for the trade deadline.

A perfect example of this is the Boston Red Sox. After a dreadful start paired with significant injuries to Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony, the big market organization was shaping up to be an obvious seller. But now, riding dominant starting pitching and an emerging offense to win 10 of their last 12, it seems like much less of a guarantee.

The wide-open American League has made this summer all the more interesting, with a team like the Red Sox sitting six games below .500 but only three games back in the Wild Card chase.

With that said, a team like the Braves will have a much more difficult path to traverse if they hope to add talent from one of these middling AL squads. This reality was detailed in a July 9 article from The Athletic, where insiders Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon report that Atlanta, among other teams, is expressing interest in Boston's starter Sonny Gray.